1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for removing liquid from a liquid-containing vessel, and more particularly, concerns a device for removing liquids from a plurality of separated liquid-containing wells, such as a standard 96 well tissue culture plate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many laboratory procedures, particularly those involving the transfer of liquid media, standard tissue culture plates are employed for holding small quantities of liquids. Standard 96 well tissue culture plates are used for the retention of small quantities of liquid in each of the wells which are separated from each other so that different tests may be carried out using the contents of individual wells. Many procedures require that a certain amount of liquid be removed from all wells of the culture plate, such as the routine feeding of cells cultured in vitro in the 96-well plates, wherein approximately one-half of the culture media is removed from each well and then replaced with fresh media. Present methods of transferring liquid require the pipetting of each well to remove the excess liquid therefrom. It is appreciated that these methods are labor intensive less accurate and present the possibility of cross contamination due to dripping, spillage or the like. Instead of pipetting procedures, attempts have been made recently to utilize fibrous filter material which is dipped into each well for absorbing excess liquids therefrom. However, some type of press device is usually required for inserting the fibrous filter into the plurality of wells; furthermore, these fibrous filter materials are prone to particulate contamination. In addition, this type of filter requires a filter paper on the wicking end of the material to prevent cells from being absorbed into the fibers and further presents a full diameter of surface area at the initial insertion of the material into the wells. This structure has an inclination to cause liquid overflow out of the wells and cross contamination between wells when this occurs. Accordingly, there is a need for a liquid removal device to remove liquid media simultaneously from wells of a liquid-containing vessel, such as a tissue culture plate, without overflow, cross-contamination, or contamination of the wells with material belonging to the device.